An Ingham County judge granted a protective order on Thursday to the woman who accused former Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker of sexual harassment.
The protective order replaces a temporary restraining order (TRO) that Brenda Tracy’s legal team had been granted previously. Tracy is a rape survivor and activist who had worked as a consultant with Tucker at MSU.
Tracy filed for the TRO as a Title IX investigation into her claims of sexual misconduct against the former coach went public.
Ahead of the university hearing, Tucker’s legal team released a previously unpublished 98-page document, which contained private messages between Tracy and Ahlan Alvarado, a person described as her close friend and personal assistant of two decades.
Augustin Alvarado, Ahlan’s husband, provided Tucker’s legal team with her cell phone. His attorneys deemed the messages as "newly discovered evidence" to the sexual harassment investigation, and shared the document with MSU's Board of Trustees.
Thursday's circuit court order bars the release, by either party, of “identifiable information” not made known during university investigations involving “a romantic or sexual relationship”.
For such information to be admitted into evidence, either party would have to go through extensive oversight processes including a review by the judge.
The order further bars Tucker and his attorneys from releasing personal identifiable information of sexual assault survivors. It also prohibits them from releasing information of sexual harassment that may exist on Alvarado’s cell phone.
Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aqualina said further release of information “on both sides” could taint future jury pools, adding that the public nature of the case does not do justice to either side and would be “very dangerous.”
Eric D. Delaporte, an attorney representing Tracy said he agreed with Aquilina’s ruling and was looking forward to a final resolution.
Tucker’s team did not comment. He did not appear at the hearing, citing health reasons.
Aquilina, was filling in for Judge Wanda Stokes whose absence was not explained. She set a pretrial conference for March 26 and a trial date of March 4.